Faulkner football to move to new division in 2020

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Faulkner’s 2019 football season will come to an end next weekend, but before that, the program shared some big news about the 2020 season.

Faulkner currently resided in the Mid-South Conference’s Sun Division, but next year the Eagles will move over to the Appalachian Division.

“We are very pleased with the opportunity to make this move,” said Faulkner Athletic Director Hal Wynn. “It will allow for a lot less travel time for our student-athletes, which should mean less missed out of classes and later trip departures in most cases.”

Currently Faulkner travels an average of 567 miles with a total one-way time of nearly 63 hours to play Sun Division opponents the university said. After making the move, their average travel distance and time is expected to be cut to 392 miles with a total one-way time distance of 35.5 hours.

“Obviously, geographically, it makes more sense. We looked at our travel hours this year and it exceeded 60 hours whereas, next year, it’s just over 30. It will cut our travel time in half,” said Faulkner University head football coach Tommy Wasden.

The Eagles will play the following Appalachian members next season: St. Andrews (N.C.), Kentucky Christian, Reinhardt (Ga.), Union College (Ky.), Point University (Ga.) and Bluefield (Va.). The furthest Faulkner will have to travel to play a division opponent will be the 598 miles the team travels to play Kentucky Christian Oct. 10, 2020. They’ll only have to travel 78 miles to play Pointe University Nov. 7, 2020.

The switch was made possible after Cincinnati Christian University announced that it will shut its doors following the current semester, leaving a void in the conference’s alignment.

With Faulkner shifting to the Appalachian Division, the conference will have seven schools in each of the Sun and Appalachian divisions, while the Bluegrass will have eight schools.